Fiction Review: Farlander

You know the old saying: Don’t judge a book by its cover? Then by what method do you judge it? The synopsis on the back? By reviews posted online? Or reserve any judgement until you have read it? It’s a moot point really as the majority of us are drawn to a book by its cover, thus I was drawn to Farlander by the cover.

This book was recommended by Amazon based on my viewing history. I read the blurb, liked the look of the intriguing cover and ordered it without reading any reviews. Recently I’ve been putting the “don’t judge a book by its cover” theory to the test by reading books that look good, nothing more. It’s been a mixed bag so far, a 50-50 split between the surprisingly good and the dreadful. Farlander falls in the middle in as it tried to do too much instead of sticking to one thing and doing it well.

Opening Bits

The first few pages were quite tense and dramatic, I felt instant empathy with the main guy, Ash. Following that it slowed down a little as the story shifted to a different place and characters. It wasn’t the characters that turned the pages but the scene description. It’s clear Buchanan has used his research time well as the surroundings Nico finds himself in are thoughtfully laid out. Some parts are quite graphic and violent which surprised me.

Fiction Review: Under The Dome

Before I get into the swing of this review I should point out that I’m a big Stephen King fan. I find his characters are incredibly well-developed, his plots are well thought out in the majority of his works, with some exceptions (Geralds Game springs to mind) and he has that unique knack of drawing you into a situation with ease. Bearing that in mind, I can still put together a review without bias.

If you set aside the reasons for existence of the dome itself, Under The Dome is actually more about the reaction of the characters trapped inside. As with other SK books the plot is often just a backdrop around which events take place. Understandably the fact that a huge dome has dropped onto the town of Chester’s Mill does cause panic amongst the residents. And whilst some strive to uncover its purpose it is the way the residents interact with each other that makes this a compelling read.

When I saw the cover for Under The Dome I wondered if SK was cashing in on a recently used theme. The Simpons Movie was based on a giant dome covering the town of Springfield and Gone by Michael Grant followed a similar storyline – an excellent book by the way. However, when I found out that SK had been working on Under The Dome since 1976 I was further intrigued to see what slant he had to offer on the dome/town/trapped idea.